User blog:LeoIvanov/(OOC) XNALara custom characters for Attorney Online
Pre_Claws.gif (a)CigLight.gif Raven1.png S_Normal.png Fight.png Adding custom characters to AO is fun, especially when you have full control over their poses and aren't limited to stuff like: *Different interpretations of character in fan art by different authors *Different camera angles, different zoom levels, different level of detail and different coloring *Ragged edges from bad background cropping In this blog post, for those interested, I'll go through the process of creating a random character using the program called XNALara (or XPS) which can be found for download here: [https://xnalaraitalia.deviantart.com/journal/XPS-11-8-Resize-Edition-622259042 DOWNLOAD LINK] WHAT IS XNALARA? Xnalara is a program that allows you to plop down 3D models, pose them and then save them as pictures (or in some cases as frames, if you are advanced enough to animate using xnalara). It does so while remaining very newbie-friendly, and most ''of the features you may find on it can be found out by trial and error, without requiring complex guides that take at least half an hour of watch time on youtube for a single feature. Why XNALARA and not Blender/3DS Max/MMD/Maya? Why not? Some people have learned how to work with their respective software and may achieve much better results with theirs. Even personally, I find MMD much better at handling complex animations than xnalara. However, the vast availability of models for XPS (to find a good quality model for MMD, for example, I had to spent hours on japanese websites solving riddles and logging into foreign video hosting sites, compared to 1 google search and few clicks for xps), ease of use and learning (It doesn't require you to spend weeks browsing youtube just to figure out how to make a simple pose) is what wins me over with xps. Before introduction to this program, I found the idea of opening a 3d model in any software, posing it and then saving it as a picture as a very intimidating task due to how much time I would have to dedicate to learn the process. I started off by merely trying to utilize it for drawing (posing models as reference for quick tracing), and it slowly evolved into full blown animating and 3D posing. ENOUGH WITH INTRODUCTION, HOW DO I DO THIS? Good thing you asked. First and foremost, you must find a model that you'd like to pose around for your character. The easiest way for it, I'd say, is to google search "''RANDOMCHARACTERNAME Xnalara model". Most results would take you to deviantart or xnalaraforums. Once you find a model you like, download a zip/rar archive, and extract the character folder into your XNALara_XPS/data folder, so that it looks like this: Xnalara/Data/CHARFOLDER/CHAR_FILES.mesh Now, the fun part finally begins. *''Open your XPS and make your way to the tools at the top of the Control Panel.'' **Window > 3D Canvas Size > Any size with (4:3) format. This way, the canvas size automatically scales up to AO resolution. You won't have to do any additional hassle with inserting and resizing pictures in photoshop or picture editing program. And if you use AO 2.0, your characters will scale up to AO correctly and will be at higher res than ao's regular resolution by default. In my case, I choose 800x600 (because anything higher doesn't fit on my laptop) *File > Add Model(s) > Choose your character (which you've previously put into your data folder) And there it is! Your character is now inserted into your xnalara and is ready to be posed. *Options > Display Ground to remove the ground and make the background static. Now, to pose a character, you must manipulate their bones. To do that, you have to click on any bone either on the model itself, or in the Control Window, and click + drag the sliders on their axis.'' '' The button on the bottom of the sliders lets you choose between rotating the bone, moving it and scaling it. Once you feel like you are satisfied with the pose you made, now is the time to think of a camera angle that you want the character to be in. If you want him to be at least somewhat consistent and plan on making more than 1 emote, it's best to have 1 fixed '''camera angle, because otherwise the character's sprites will always look off due to change in zoom levels, angle of camera and etc. *Generally, you want the camera to be at default yaw and pitch (0) because, at any other angle, it would look odd in AO backgrounds. **Go to Control Window > Options > Camera Parameters, and set yaw pan (horiz) and '''pitch tilt (vert) to 0. Make sure the character is facing the camera at the angle you want by either zooming in (scroll wheel/rmb + drag), or positioning the camera horizontally/vertically (lmb + rmb drag). Make sure your yaw pan and pitch tilt remain at 0, however, by looking at Camera parameters. Now just go to Options > Lighting Parameters and adjust the light to how you see fit. Now, as you may see, we're already sorta half way there! For some people, this level of character is already enough, but if you want to truly take things to the next level, xnalara allows you to further customize their appearance. First things first: SAVE THE SCENE BEFORE DOING ANY CHANGES FROM THIS POINT ON! If you find yourself accidently messing something up (like accidentally dragging the camera off, or forgetting a specific setting, or deleting a model), you could always revert to your last saved scene and restoring camera/model/pose settings as they were. *File > Save Scene > choose any name you want Now, additional settings you could tweak with are the following: #Shaders. Some people like to have their models retain this "Hand drawn" feeling of custom AO sprites (like me). A particular shader setting you can use to achieve this can be found in the shaders tab. ##Shader > Use Written Shader > Any option (I like the very last one, XL_DetailShadlessOutline) ##(Specific for XL_DetailShadlessOutline): In Options > Lighting Parameters, adjusting "shadow depth" in Light 2 adjusts how thick the "black outlines" around the model are for a more hand drawn feeling. #Post-Processing. This option allows you to tweak the colors of the character to make it look more lively. Usually, when I pose an already established character, I just look for fan art of them on the internet, keep it open beside XPS window and adjust/play with post processing parameters until I get something close to what I want. I won't go in depth about all of the options because there's too many of them, so you'd have to use your eye and trial and error to figure this one out. It uses sliders, so it isn't nothing intimidating though, don't worry. ##Options > Post Processing parameters #Props. While not necessary needed for the pose I'm doing, sometimes you'd want to add a few props to your model, like swords/pistols which don't come with the original model. The process of adding those is the same as with adding a regular character. ##File > Add Model(s) > Choose your prop (which I hope you've downloaded already) ##Position it around using arrow keys, moving up and down using Shift + ctrl + alt + arrow keys, scaling with the sliders and rotating with those as well. #Optional Items. Some models come with optional items which you can toggle between on the fly. Usually those involve character clothes, some transformations, skin color or something else, depending on the creator of the model. In our case, Alex Mercer can switch his hands into different weapons. ##Ctrl + A > Tick option items of your liking. That shall be it. Again, don't forget to save the scene once you're satisfied with what you're done, and then save your character as a picture. *Options > Set Background Color > Black (Outlines won't look messy) *File > Save Image > tick "save alpha channel" and untick "render logo" To make additional poses, load the scene you've saved at the end, make sure to reapply shaders (shaders are unticked every time you restart XPS and have to be turned back on manually. Your lighting settings, however, are saved.) and reset the pose by pressing Alt + X. It will reset the pose back to default, while retaining all the lighting/post processing/camera settings, and now you can make an entirely new pose which would look the same as the others, at the same angle. Enjoy posing and I hope that HWS gets to see more characters made in this program. tut9.png Punching.png Fight_2.png knuck.png korra.png capfight.png swordr.png archerf.png Category:Blog posts